


The journey of Atlanta and Penelope

by emilydickensonwasalesbian



Category: Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, The Odyssey - Homer
Genre: #greeklesbians, #odysseusisdeadbecauseheisaasshole, #wlw, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:01:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27944228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emilydickensonwasalesbian/pseuds/emilydickensonwasalesbian
Summary: Odysseus is killed at sea and Penelope is overrun with suitors. But, another hero had run away from her home in order to escape her suitors and is now stranded on Ithaca.  The fate of Penelope rests in this hero’s hands.
Relationships: Atlanta/ Penelope.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 4





	1. The Plaque of the Suitors

**Author's Note:**

> So I’m not exactly sure what time the story of Atlanta was set in but I know that it was a Greek myth. I wrote this because I was forced to read the Odyssey for school and I hated how Penelope was treated. Also, I needed more wlwl storylines in my life. This is my first fan fiction, so it’s not the best! Thank you!

I woke up to seaweed littering my boat, dead fish covering my oars, and my supplies thrown all over the sand.   
Wait, Sand? I wasn’t supposed to land in Athens for at least another day, if not a week, I thought to myself. That storm must have been stronger than I thought. Realization dawned on me as I looked up at the fig trees surrounding me, smelled the fresh smashed grapes, and felt the rocky sand dig into my back. I was in Ithaca, and nothing good ever happened here.

I quickly stood up, examined my surroundings, just as the hunters had taught me. I was hidden by the shadows of fig trees and my boat had washed onto the sand. If I looked to the east, I could see a stone castle towering over the cliffs. I saw a small town filled with marketplaces. Interesting, I thought to myself, a place to replenish my supplies but also a place full of disgusting men.   
I would have to disguise myself in order to get what I wanted.

I wore a long toga, with cloth binding my chest. I had chopped my hair short, like a man’s. To finish the look, I had wrapped a gray cloak around my shoulders. I rummaged through the remains of my ship to see if any of my weapons had survived the shipwreck. I found my sword, still intact, and a small dagger. I thanked the gods that my sword had survived. It had been a gift from my patron goddess, Artemis.

I climbed the steep path that led me to the marketplace. With the sun shining down my back it was almost like my days with the bears. I reached the top in record time, better than when I had chased the Calydonian. I looked across the market. Sellers of all kinds had set up shop on the streets. I could buy Apples, Figs, Oranges, new weapons, perhaps even tools to fix my boat!

“Sir would you be interested in new iron?”  
“Apples! Figs! Grapes! Eat till your Heart's desire at themise’s stand!”  
“100 year aged wine! Two for the price of one!”  
The shouts of what to buy and how much to buy rung in my ears. This town seemed plenty talkative, but hopefully not too much. I needed to get what I wanted and leave. 

I stopped at one man’s shop. According to the sign, he sold mechanic parts at every hour. The sign seemed to be incorrect for the man was fast asleep in his seat.  
“Sir?” I asked him.  
No response.   
“Excuse me, I was wondering about your parts?”  
Still no response.  
I started to brandish my sword to get his attention, but he woke up with a start.   
“Oh-oh good noon sir, is there anything I could help you with?”  
“Yes. I am in need of a new rudder and tools to attach it.”  
His face turned from complacent to curious, “I’ve never seen you before, are you a suitor to Queen Penelope?”

My mind changed from focused on getting out of here as quick as possible to getting this “Penelope” away from any suitors. I knew, first hand, how awful suitors could be, even if you were a queen. I shook the thought from my mind and thought back to fixing my boat.

“No sir, just a traveler, who is this “Penelope”?”  
“Our queen, and the widow of Odysseus. Odysseus left 20 years ago to fight in the Trojan war, but did not come home. Just last week, we were informed that he had been killed by the sea monster, Scylla.”

I had heard of Odysseus, the man who cheated on his wife three times, and then pretended to be a hero? I would have killed him myself if Scylla hadn’t done it for me. But, this man seemed to greatly miss Odysseus and I doubt mentioning I hated him would help me.

“That is a true tragedy, but, the rudder?”  
The man snapped out of his gaze and handed over the parts I needed.   
“Thank you,” I told him, giving him 20 silver coins.

I knew that returning to my boat and leaving would be the wisest thing to do, but I couldn’t get the queen, Penelope, out of my mind. It seemed that no one in the town would ever save her, now that her husband was dead. She would most likely be forced into another abusive marriage, forced into another life of servitude. 

But, I couldn’t think of that now, I had to fix my boat and leave this island. Besides, I had my own demons to outrun. I doubted my father was very pleased when he found my empty bed.

I ran down the path, down to my boat, never stopping. I had to leave this island and my thoughts of Penelope behind.

My plan to leave Ithaca unseen would have worked, if I had not heard a group of drunken suitors. I quickly hid behind a bush, anxious to not meet another man.

“When I marry Penelope I will be king of Ithaca!” one man yelled.  
“When I marry Penelope I will be king of her body!”, another shouted in return.  
The men laughed together at the prospect of the naked Penelope.

My blood started to boil. These men had no character and yet they were undressing Penelope with their minds! In that moment, I knew that I could not leave Penelope alone in this situation. These men must pay.

I leaped out of my hiding place in the bush, sword in hand, ready to fight these men.   
“Have you no honor? Have you no dignity? To be speaking of your queen in such a way is a true dishonor.”

The men stared at me with a drunken gaze, then they burst out laughing.  
“This Boy seems to fancy the queen!”, one shouted.   
“He seems to want to win her by showing her honor!”, another screamed.  
The men laughed and screamed together. I hoped that Penelope would never have to meet these suitors. 

I spun my sword and placed it against the neck of one of the suitors.   
“If you and everyone else do not leave Ithaca at once, I will chop all your heads off, with no remorse.”

The men stared at me in disbelief, but soon started to laugh. To prove my point, I slew the head of the man I holding. His blood ran onto the grassy ground. The men soon followed.

I knew that these men were only a small portion of the suitors at the castle. The suitors were most likely even more disgusting and mysogynistic than the ones I had met. 

I knew I could not leave Penelope alone, I had to save her from the suitors. I turned around to go to the castle, my sword in hand and covered in blood.


	2. Saving Penelope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I am no man.”  
> Atlanta goes through Ithaca and the castle to save Penelope. She has to endure ruthless suitors and annoying men.

As I walked through the market once again, though with a different goal, it was eerily quiet. No vendors or shopkeepers yelled or advertised. I passed the mechanic I had bought from, but when he saw me he quickly turned away. The same thing seemed to happen with everyone else. 

I saw a weaving shop, filled with beautiful tapestries and cloths. I locked eyes with the woman in the shop, and, instead of turning away, she stared back. I took this as a good sign, I walked closer and asked,

“Could you point me in the direction of the castle?”

Instead of answering, the woman replied with a question,

“Are you the man who killed those suitors?”

I assumed she was talking about the men I had slain, and I was about to answer that yes, I was. But, something in my mind told me to tell her the truth. That I was a woman.

“Idid kill those men, but I am no man,”

I whispered. I took my hood away from my head, revealing my entire face.

Her face shone with astonishment. It was obvious she had never seen, or even heard of a woman warrior. Especially one who kills.

“The castle?”, I asked again.

The woman seemed to snap out of her gaze and answered me,

“Straight North for half an hour and then turn west.”

I thanked her and left the village, feeling her eyes on me.

The path I walked was narrow, with trees lingering the edges, creating an arch. I could hear the birds chirping, the bees buzzing. Everything seemed perfect, but I knew that the queen had it far from perfect. I knew that Penelope was being traded like cattle.

I had to focus. If living with the hunters had taught me anything, it was to pay attention to the task at hand. 

I sped up, my pace quickened, and the wind blew in my face. The wind changed direction and soon a flurry of pink petals were swirling around me. They were pale, small, and light. They reminded me of a simpler time.

The trees started to get more spread out, father in between. I walked faster. I could see the castle, I could hear the suitors.

I knew that word of my killings had spread to the castle. The woman in the square knew, why wouldn’t they? My original plan to disguise myself as a man would not work, they would be on the lookout for imposters. I would have to sneak in, not let anyone see me.

I wrapped my cloak tighter around my shoulders, making my body conform to the shadows. I crept up the path to the castle. I was cautious, making no sudden movements, but there were no guards, no lookouts, just rowdy laughter from inside the castle. 

I reached the main courtyard. It had seen better days. There was evidence of once blooming rose bushes, but they had shriveled up and died. The pebble path was stained with wine, or perhaps blood. A pear tree stood with its branches empty, and with rotten fruit littering the bottom. 

I looked for a way around. On the left, I saw two rusty windows, seeming to lead to a pantry. On the right, a wooden gate was partly open. Laughing and screaming came from the gate.

I turned right, towards the gate.

I crept past the wooden gate, entering a small, dirt, path. I walked along it until I reached a stone archway. The archway lead directly to the suitors. 

I knew that I shouldn’t go in. That I would be risking my life, and Penelope’s.

I stepped in, staying close to the sides. I could see a hundred suitors drinking and eating together. The dining hall was huge. From the height arched ceilings, to the stage set out for the bard and the musician. I thouht that no one would see me, that I was just a needle in a haystack.

I was wrong. 

“My good fellow! Come, join us! Today, we celebrate the death of Odysseus and the legal singleness of our queen, and hopefully my future wife, Penelope!”

The man’s massive arm wrapped around my shoulders, gripping them so tightly I could barely breathe. I tried to assert my masculinity. I stood up straighter, I deepened my voice, I pulled me cloak tighter. I summoned as much arrogance as I started to answer.

“A good day indeed! Are you planning on marrying this now single queen?”

He let me out of his grasp. I silently gasped for breath, trying not to make a scene. He then laughed harder than I had heard anyone before, bellowing over his legs, and his voice echoing around the room.

“Aren’t we all? Every Single man in this room would love to get in bed with Penelope!”

I looked down. I felt sick to my stomach. These men were just as bad, if not worse, than the suitors I had killed. Penelope was most likely fearing for her life but these men were fantasizing about abusing the queen. I was disgusted. I added the man to my list of who I wanted to kill. Along with every other man in the room.

I forced myself to look up. I made eye contact with the man. I forced myself to laugh, I felt horrible. I felt like I was betraying everything I stand for, everything that I was, that I wanted to be. It’s for Penelope I reminded myself.

I had to get out of here.

The laughter around started to settle down. I knew that if i stayed in this room any longer I would blow my cover and start killing these men. I didn’t trust myself to let myself stay here any longer.

“I have had a very long journey coming here to see the beautiful Penelope and I am exhausted. Do you know where the bathrooms are?”

I asked the man.

“Leaving so soon?”

He winked at me.

“The bathrooms are on that hallway and four doors down.”

He said, pointing toward a doorway.

I nodded my head towards him and turned towards the doorway.

I walked past the bathroom, and turned right, up a stairway. I suspected that Penelope’s room would be up high, with a view fit for a queen. I ran up the stairs until I entered a hallway with ornate paintings, beautiful fruit, and exotic rugs. Surely, whoever lived here was royalty.

I walked quickly , keeping my cloak around me. Hopefully, if anyone saw me they would assume I was a misplaced suitor. 

I had been walking for about five minutes but I stopped when I saw a beautiful, wide, doorway. The doorway was bronze, carved with images of the gods. Looking inside, I could see a beautiful carpeted couch, tables filled with colorful yarn and wool, and a bed decorated with the most elaborate cloths I had ever seen.

But it was nothing compared to the woman sitting in the room.

She had gorgeous dark olive skin, with wavy black hair. Her eyes were an angelic brown, and her eyelashes were long and curved. She was wearing a simple chiton, but the way she held herself made her more regal than anyone I had ever seen. When she looked at me I felt something I had never felt before. My heart started to beat faster and faster. My knees started to buckle. 

“Why are you here? Go back downstairs with the other suitors!”

She spoke, keeping our eyes locked the entire time. I was confused, for a second, until I realized my mistake. I quickly took off my cloak, showing my face and form. The look in her eyes quickly changed to intrigued and hopeful.

“I am no man. And I am here to save you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I took so long to post! I had a ton of finals and I procrastinated a ton! Thanks for Reading!

**Author's Note:**

> I imagining like five or six chapters but I’m not entirely sure yet!


End file.
